rotten apple
A bad person, especially one who has a corrupting influence on others.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“One rotten apple can spoil the whole group.”
“The manager fired the employee because he was a rotten apple who encouraged others to stop working hard.”
“The committee feared that a single rotten apple within their ranks might compromise the integrity of the entire organization.”
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apple of someone's eye
The object of somebody's affections; a person (or sometimes a thing) that someone strongly prefers; a favorite, a loved one.
- 02
apple polisher
A sycophant; a toady.
- 03
apples and oranges
A comparison of items that, however categorically similar, is inapt; an incompatible analogy, or the items so compared; a disanalogy.
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apples to apples
A comparison of items that are similar.
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apples to apples, oranges to oranges
A comparison of items that are similar, while also acknowledging or distinguishing a separation of their sets or categories.
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bad apple
A person who is not wholesome, honest, or trustworthy, especially one who has an adverse influence on others.
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mix apples and oranges
To mix or confuse two completely different objects or ideas.
- 08
rotten egg
A person who is the latest, the last, or the slowest in a group to arrive somewhere or to perform a certain task.
Last updated August 10, 2026